Police brutality: MPs divided over claims of hired goons during Azimio demos
From left: Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, National Assembly Minority Leader and Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi and Dagoretti South MP John Kiarie chat outside the National Assembly precincts at Parliament Building in Nairobi on Thursday, July 27.
What you need to know:
- Kenya Kwanza MPs claimed that Azimio had hired criminals to hide behind protests to instigate violence.
- The Opposition has accused the government of hiding its failure to deal with joblessness by killing innocent demonstrators.
- While Kenya Kwanza defended the police over their conduct in quelling the protests, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party demanded that police officers responsible for the killings be held to account.
An adjournment to discuss police brutality witnessed during the anti-government demonstrations turned into a shouting match between lawmakers from the Opposition and their Kenya Kwanza counterparts.
The motion by Kisumu West MP Rosa Buyu provided an avenue for political blame games between the two political sides.
While Kenya Kwanza defended the police over their conduct in quelling the protests, the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party demanded that police officers responsible for the killings be held to account.
The Azimio camp led by National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi accused the government of hiding its failure to deal with the high unemployment rate among the young people by killing innocent demonstrators exercising their constitutional rights.
“The government should deal with problems facing Kenyans instead of venting their anger on hapless citizens,” Mr Wandayi said
“No amount of arrests, intimidation, and incarceration will solve the [country’s] problems and you don’t have enough bullets to kill all demonstrators,” Mr Wandayi added.
However long it takes, the Ugunja MP pledged, “the perpetrators of the atrocities that were committed against the demonstrators will be held to account”. Siaya Woman Rep Christine Ombaka called on the country’s top leadership and the police to apologise and compensate families whose kin were killed and maimed.
“It’s a bad look for the country in the eyes of the international community when old people are killed just because of protesting against the high cost of living. Demonstration is a constitutional right and it also happens the world over,” Dr Ombaka said.
Alego Usonga MP caused an uproar in the House when he said the police were under instructions to commit genocide against a particular community.
“The regime was given instruction to go out and shoot our people. Majority of those killed by police are from one community,” he claimed.
National Assembly Majority leader Kimani Ichung’wa, however, countered the demonstrations have never been peaceful. He accused Azimio of mobilising criminals to cause havoc instead of picketing peacefully.
Mr Ichung’wa said the police have the cardinal duty to deal with criminals whether in the political circles or among the public.
“We cannot continue to mobilise people for riots then come and cry foul when police do their work. We have seen people being mobilised to violence. What we have seen are not demonstrations but robbery with violence,” Mr Ichung’wa said.
“We will not allow any amount of bloodshed and violence in this country to be used for political negotiation and handshake,” he added.
Kipkelion West MP Hillary Koskei said Opposition protests were not legitimate demonstrations but criminals who were robbing innocent Kenyans going about their daily routines.
Mr Koskei claimed that, on his way to his rural home, he encountered over 20 roadblocks mounted by criminals posing as demonstrators who were demanding money from road users.
“What was happening in Nyanza was just a group of criminals terrorising and extorting money from innocent Kenyans. What do you expect the police to do, just sit back and watch?” Mr Koskei posed.
Moiben MP Phylis Jepkemoi said supermarkets were looted and police had a duty to swing into action and protect peoples’ property.
“Who is supposed to protect the business people going about their duties? They want the cost of living to go down, yet they are disrupting people who are working to reduce the cost of living,” Ms Jepkemoi said.
Azimio claimed that more than 50 people were killed by police during the three-day protests last week.
While the coalition has accused police of killing protesters arbitrarily while suppressing the demonstrations, the government insists police acted professionally.
The coalition that is led by Mr Raila Odinga has called on the International Criminal Court to open investigations into the conduct of police officers during the protests.
